Sonoran Desert Tortoise

description

Description of holotype. A juvenile, with straight-line carapace length at midline (MCL) = 86.5 mm, maximum carapace length is 88.5, curved carapace length from free edge of nuchal scute to that of supracaudal scute = 118 mm, maximum plastron plastron length from tip of gular horn to tip of anal scutes = 86 mm, midline plastron length from gular notch to anal notch = 78 mm, maximum height of shell at 3 rd vertebral scute = 40 mm, width at 3 rd marginal scute = 64 mm, maximum midbody width = 69, maximum width at 7 th marginal scute = 73 mm, and head length from tip of snout to posterior edge of supraoccipital condyle = 25 mm (Figs 8, 12). Eleven marginal scutes present on both right and left edges of carapace. Supracaudal scute single, undivided. Five toenails present on each forelimb, four toenails on each hind limb (Fig. 9). Third nail of each hind limb longer than others. Two enlarged, raised scales present on anterior ventral surface of foreleg of which the ventral-most scale is larger, more protruding than others. Scales on head smooth, asymmetrical, larger anteriorly at snout, becoming much smaller in temporal area (Fig. 12). Areolae and 7 to 8 growth laminae present on all sc

The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz's land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines, Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation

diagnosis

Diagnosis. All of the species of Gopherus and their hybrids can be easily diagnosed using molecular data. Morphologically, Gopherus morafkai can be separated from both Gopherus flavomarginatus and Gopherus polyphemus in having relatively smaller front feet. Whereas the distance from the bases of the first to fourth claws is the same on all feet in Gopherus morafkai, in the latter two species the distance from the bases of the first and third claws on the forelimb is about the same as the distance between the bases of the first and fourth claws on the hindlimb (Auffenberg and Franz 1978). The diagnosis of living specimens of Gopherus morafkai, Gopherus berlandieri and Gopherus agassizii can be impossible in captive tortoises because of extensive hybridization (Edwards et al. 2010) and because of abnormalities in shell, head and limb integument from poor nutrition (Donoghue 2006). However, in non-hybrid individuals, Gopherus morafkai can be separated from Gopherus berlandieri in having a rounded snout when viewed from above as opposed to a wedge-shaped snout in Gopherus berlandieri (Auffenberg and Franz 1978). Further, in Gopherus morafkai the gular projections do not normally diverg

The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz's land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines, Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation

distribution

Distribution. Gopherus morafkai occurs naturally east and south of the Colorado River in Arizona, as well as in Sonora, including Tiburon Island, and Sinaloa on the west side of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico (Berry et al. 2002). The species appears to have been recently introduced from Sonora into at least one home in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico as pets, where it successfully reproduced (Patricia Galina, personal communication to RWM). It likely occurs as introduced individuals or populations in North America and possibly elsewhere, although in this case many individuals are likely hybrids of Gopherus morafkai x agassizii.

The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz's land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines, Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation

etymology

Etymology. The new species is a patronym for the late Professor David Joseph Morafka in recognition of his many contributions to the biology and conservation of the species of Gopherus and his unsurpassed way of facilitating research, even among researchers with very different perspectives.

The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz's land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines, Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation